•The February 2008 issue of "Carousel News & Trader," in reporting on page 7 about renovations at Tilden Regional Park, Berkeley, Calif., says that the North Tonawanda band organ on the Tilden carousel will still be played only on Sundays. It has been playing only on Sundays, and then not before noo...

In a message dated 96-11-14 03:13:10 EST, Mr. A.B. Bonds writes: > When I lived in Berkeley, CA I would regularly make a Sunday pilgrimage > up to Tilden Park to watch the merry-go-round and listen to the organ. > It runs off of a double-roll tracker bar frame, appears as though > O-rolls are used, ...

•Marc Elbasani wrote: > Kenneth L. Smith of Blacklick Ohio........... his 98-keyless Gavioli > ... Oh, Bob Conant mentioned something before about Tilden Park > having a Gavioli? ... Bob? What makes you think that? A couple of corrections to Marc's note. Ken Smith's replica Black Forest Gavioli is a...

•Dear MMDians, It only occurred to me just now to mention that the back of the Ruth B.A.B. organ at Tilden Park merry-go-round in Berkeley CA was lined with a screen of red cloth, darkened by dust. I've seen red cloth used on Ruth and Ignaz Bruder organs, but I suspect it is also used in American or...

•Do modern people just like to complain about noise? I saw this link on the Doctor Who forum. It seemed to fit in with the discussion about the carousel organ at Tilden Park, Berkeley. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-york-north-yorkshire-11340226 "Children at a school near Selby have had a play...

I bought my first band organ recordings back in the early 1950's, and they were hard to find. They came from the late Ross R. Davis, owner of the Griffith Park, Lincoln Park, and Tilden Regional Park merry-go-rounds in California, and from the Allan Herschell Company in North Tonawanda, N.Y. They we...

Hi everybody, My name is Marc and I have recently developed a passion for band-organs. My main interest in these marvelous machines lies within the range of 42 to 66 keys. Anything over that becomes a little too orchestral, and that's not exactly how a band-organ should sound, in my opinion. My favo...

•I lived in S.F. from 1968 to 1988. The Cliff House has/had? a Mechanical Museum, with several orchestrions, nickelodeons, and other coin operated instruments. Along with the latest pinball and arcade games, assuming it is still in operation. Also check out the Berkeley Community Theater. They were ...

•[ Robbie asked, "Do you have an organ or a synth available to play [ the organ rolls?" In response to Robbie's questions: I do not have an organ yet. To be quite honest, I don't think I'll be allowed to have one of these "little" treasures inside a college dorm (next year). Right now I'm just colle...

•Dear MMDians, Well, I never thought I'd say this, but I'm gonna build a band organ. I realize just how big a project it is, but I just can't stand it anymore. I need one. With the help of a friend of mine from Silicon Valley, I hope to throw together a decent sounding organ that has enough pipes to...

•Dear MMDians, I need to get my hands on a B.A.B. 66-key transcription (or original!) that has the "Second Finale from La Traviata." I want it for my collection, but also in an attempt to identify some pipes in the Tilden Park organ. Heck, if you have that one transcription, lemme know what else ya ...

•Dear MMDians, I've looked over the roll on eBay and even asked the seller how many rows of holes there are on this little mystery. The seller said there were only 17 rows, but I'm betting he only unrolled it enough to get the start of the melody section, for which there are 17 notes. The numbering ...

•Hello all, I have been reading with interest the thread about recutting B.A.B. and Artizan rolls. I am, however, surprised that only one or two people have mentioned North Tonawanda rolls. These were the basis for the Artizan and B.A.B. scales, and there are still many organs that play them. For ex...

•It is my sad duty to report that MMD list member Marc Elbasani died Wednesday morning from a swimming accident at his local fitness club. He was 26 years old. I met Marc in 1998 and he introduced me to the mechanical music world. Together we built a small computer-controlled organ and were planning...

•As long as we are sharing stories about exposure to, and interest in, mechanical music, I can tell you all that, were it not for my father, I most likely would not have had any connection to the hobby. Why is that? Because he began taking us to Tilden's Carousel in Berkeley and to the Musee Mechani...

•In reference to Matthew Caulfield's posting in 150817 MMDigest, [ http://www.mmdigest.com/Archives/Digests/201508/2015.08.17.01.html I was wondering whether or not all the masters for the different styles of B.A.B. band organ rolls would also be sold along with the perforator. The B.A.B. roll style...

•I'm feeling old these days and I have been discussing aging with some online friends like Doug Hershberger, who operates the roll perforator at the Herschell Carrousel Factory Museum, and with Bill Black, the retired dentist who owns Carrousel Music in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, and who used to ma...

•Well apparently B.A.B. was really big on book music before J. Lawrence Cook got to working there. One of the three partners of the firm did some excellent arranging on various scales that I think went up to 110-keys! Yup, 110-key music for the Gaviolis I believe, though I just might be mistaken. Bu...

•Dominik Brugnolotti of the B.A.B. firm punched the book music himself in the earlier years of the company's organ conversions. J. Lawrence Cook never dabbled with the book music to my knowledge. I do not know if they still punched book music when they went into rolls, but that may have been possibl...

•Dear MMDians, I know it's been long time, but I'm still in the hobby. As I see it, the appreciation of band-organs is sort of like one of those rare diseases that won't kill you, but stays with you forever. Hmmm... Anyway, I now have a table saw and I got my own bench planer (it's a 13" Ridgid!) an...